Hearing voices and the quest for autonomy: An interpretative phenomenological analysis.
Psychology and psychotherapy December 7, 2025 Sepinood Noroozi, Nastaran Doroud, Eleanor Longden et al.
Hearing voices can challenge a person's sense of self and autonomy, but autonomy is continuously negotiated through reflection, adaptation, and self-regulation. Interviews with six voice hearers revealed three key themes: voices challenged self-authorship, requiring personally meaningful narratives to re-establish autonomy; autonomy and power were shared and negotiated with voices; and voices interfered with perceived competence and decision-making, limiting the ability to navigate life independently. The capacity to integrate experiences and influence change affected how self-determined participants felt. Supporting voice hearers in constructing self-oriented narratives may strengthen their sense of autonomy.